Maybank says SingPost can potentially offer a ‘significant’ special dividend after sales of assets

The bank says that the sale of Famous Holdings should conclude by end January 2025

BELEAGUERED national postal service provider SingPost could offer a potentially “significant” special dividend after it completes its planned sales of two business units, said Maybank on Friday (Jan 3).

The bank referred to SingPost’s proposed divestment of its Australian logistics business Freight Management Holdings and its potential sale of freight forwarding business Famous Holdings.

Maybank says that the sale of Famous Holdings should conclude by end January 2025, which should raise between S$80 million and S$100 million in proceeds.

“We expect a significant special dividend after both businesses are sold,” said Maybank analyst Jarick Seet.

Maybank maintains its buy rating on SingPost, with a price target of S$0.77. Shares of the troubled company were at S$0.555 at the end of morning trade on Friday, as they bounced back after the company fired three C-suite executives in late December. That had caused the shares to plunge in the days after.

SingPost had been engaged in a tussle of words with the fired executives, who are group chief executive Vincent Phang, group chief financial officer Vincent Yik, and the chief executive of the company’s international business unit Li Yu.

They were found to be negligent in the handling of internal investigations over a whistle-blower’s report; questions have also been raised about whether the divestment of Freight Management Holdings could be scuppered by the sackings.

But it will not be affected, buyer Pacific Equity Partners had told The Business Times.

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